Harrington & Richardson is always doing cool things these days under the umbrella of the larger Palmetto State Armory brand, and SHOT Show 2025 was no different. H&R dates back to 1871 and has long been associated with retro service firearms. Much of the brand’s current direction is dedicated to that retro style of firearms manufacturing, which includes bringing back a lot of classic designs.
The big buzz for 2025 is the reintroduction of the H&R T48 FAL clone. However, the company has a lot more firearms with retro vibes to offer this year.
H&R T48 FAL Clone
In a move that’s sure to have classic FAL fans drooling, H&R teamed up with the likes of PSA and DS Arms to revive an overlooked prototype for an American battle rifle. H&R’s original T48 rifle once vied for prominence against the classic M14 in military trials.
Now, H&R has revived the T48 for a market hungry for classic full-size battle rifles like the FAL.
While Harrington & Richardson introduced the original prototype T48 as a replacement for the M1 Garand in the 1950s, it is DSA that has remained a go-to manufacturer of FAL-style firearms into the 21st century.
We will surely have a lot more coming on this gun in the near future, so stay tuned.
Department of Energy ‘DOE’ Pistol
One of the other eye-catching items from the H&R booth was the introduction of the DOE Pistol based on a sample from the Department of Energy. This fun reproduction is based on the Colt 633 that was adopted in small numbers by the department.
Unfortunately, not a lot is known about the Department of Energy’s original requirements for the Colt 633 when it was adopted. However, this H&R reproduction is made to spec from a real DOE sample gun.
The pistol features a 7-inch barrel with a Colt Port Firing Weapon handguard, which includes the iconic forward-mounted hand stop. The front sight folds down, and the carry handle is fixed.
The design feeds from Colt-pattern SMG magazines and is chambered for 9mm. The design ended up being shorter than the MP5, which was very popular at the time. Alas, it did not see much success outside of a handful of guns going to the DEA.
Ultimately, this little mystery 9mm is iconic for its mystery and interesting design choices. That made it one of the more eye-catching items on the floor of SHOT Show due to its unique history.
H&R has lots of parts and plans to manufacture the DOE Pistol for a while. Sadly, the company has informed me that it will be a somewhat limited run, with no plan to keep it in production long term.
H&R Lever Guns
Mike with H&R was also excited to introduce a new line of lever guns that will debut for the PSA subsidiary. It is easy to forget that while the modern H&R brand has been a retro-style company, H&R is a classic American manufacturer, too.
The company has made sporting firearms for over 100 years, which includes a lot of bolt guns, sporting shotguns, and now, lever-action rifles.
While it’s still in the early phases of development and manufacturing, the company plans to make a lot of common cowboy-action calibers with designs that range from classic blued/case-hardened receivers with wood stocks to modern polymer stocks and Cerakote finishes.
From the examples at SHOT Show, they appear to be side-gate-loading rifles with top ejection, much like many common Winchester models. The plan is to also offer them in a few different barrel lengths, giving the customer many options for sport shooting or hunting.
